Trenton's Emily Fisher school fights for state to honor charter

TRENTON — In the week since the state Department of Education announced its decision not to renew Emily Fisher Charter School’s charter, students and administrators have been lobbying to keep it open.

On Tuesday, more than 470 Emily Fisher students, parents, teachers and community members met at the school’s Copeland Center on Chestnut Avenue to rally support.

Though the school is in the city’s East Ward, concerned residents asked George Muschal, a South Ward councilman, to become involved. Muschal visited the school this week, and he said yesterday that he has asked state legislators to support keeping it open.

Students actually like going to school at Emily Fisher, Muschal said, and he invited reporters to come see for themselves.

In interviews yesterday, a couple of eighth-graders agreed that the teachers are the school’s best feature.

“They really care for students,” said Kieannie Davis, 13. “It’s a friendly environment. You can tell them anything.”

Justin Figueroa, 13, started at Emily Fisher in the sixth grade and is now an eighth-grader there.

“Our teachers — they make sure to help when you need help before you leave class. When someone has a problem, you can talk to the staff about it,” Figueroa said.

Of the 384 students at Emily Fisher’s middle and high schools, 40 percent are eligible for special education classes, said Althia A. Muse, assistant executive director of Emily Fisher’s middle and high schools.

Muse said the charter was founded in 1998 as a “second chance” school for Trenton public school students who had problems with attendance or behavior as well as poor academic performance.

She said 60 or 70 percent of students have gone on to four-year colleges and universities.

The state announced its decision not to renew the school’s charter March 2.

Without a renewal, the school must cease operations by June 29.

The decision followed an investigation by the state DOE in November that found a number of problems, including poor attendance, poor academic performance, poor leadership, teacher certification issues, and state-mandated reports that had not been completed.

In public statements last week, Emily Fisher administrators said their school had been doing well academically.